Ciara’s Comments: Bears and 49ers

I begin my look at this week’s Bears 49ers game with a look back at last week’s Bears game.

The Chicago Bears went to Philadelphia with very little optimism from the fanbase going into the game. However, it was worse than anyone could’ve suspected. The Bears came out of the game with little to no positives. The offense couldn’t move, the special teams was inept and the defense failed to make critical plays that could’ve changed the game. On at least three occasions the Bears defense had the ball in their hands. That has become a habit, I’ve lost count of the amount of times Kyle Fuller has failed to catch the ball. It’s a mentality and a habit to be able to intercept a football. Some players have it and have the knack for being in the right place at the right time and other simply don’t.

While I was impressed with the early play from Kyle Fuller, it is very simple. He just doesn’t have the innate ability to make plays on the ball. That is not what you want from one of the starting CBs on your roster. It’s very hard to win football games if you cannot take the ball away. While the defense has managed more takeover through forced fumbles, it’s the interception totals that has to be worrying Ryan Pace and the Bears decision makers. We’ve seen in 2017 a lack of concentration to intercept the football and it is something that is effecting the defense. The front seven is banged up, Floyd is out, Trevathan has been out for weeks and Hicks is dealing with nagging injuries. The front seven need some help in the secondary. Amos and Eddie Jackson up to the Philly game were putting together impressive displays throughout the season. However, the eagles game was one to forget for the rookie safety from Alabama. He missed a handful of open field tackles, his tackling angles were all wrong and he dropped a sure fire pick 6. He is still a rookie but when youre given the opportunity to score on defense you have to take it and Eddie Jackson didn’t.

While I was disappointed with the defensive display, the offensive performance was simply unacceptable. The running game was inexcusable, for a rushing attack to total -6 yards is a disgrace. The offensive line simply were being dominated and that had a knock on effect to the entire offense. The Bears couldn’t run the ball or pass the ball. It was a truly terrible performance. While Trubisky will get all the negative headlines. It is imperative to look back at the all 22 tape. The reason why the Bears were unable to move the football was very obvious. The Eagles were successfully able to stop the run and then just played simple man coverage. No Chicago Bears wide receiver could even get a yard of separation. This is leading Trubisky to be late on his throws and often has to try and make a play outside of the pocket. Dowell Loggains mentioned that the Wide Receivers are cutting their routes short and that is leading to Trubisky’s inaccuracy. Personally, I don’t agree with that sentiment by Loggains. It is actually very simple, Trubisky has no time in the pocket and nobody is getting open. Even if Trubisky throws a perfect placed football, defenders are getting to it and making it a 50/50 ball. The other problem is when the ball is placed in the hands of the Wide Receivers it’s being dropped. That is just not good enough and it needs to improve quickly. Overall, it was an embarrassing display of football. It was one of those games that you burn the game film and move on to the 49ers and that is exactly what we will do.

San Francisco 49ers ( 1- 10)
Chicago Bears (3-8)

The Chicago Bears come into week 13 as slight favourites over the 49ers. There is very little intrigue in the Chicago Bears moving forward. It is a lost season and the clock is running out on the John Fox tenure. The last five games have very little significance in the offseason other than draft position and the lure of the franchise to be able to bring Free Agents to Chicago. It is important that over the next 5 weeks, Mitch Trubisky is able to develop slightly and gain some confidence before the long offseason program begins. The Bears as a team need to show unity and must work to win the game. As a Bears fan, it is understandable that parts of the fanbase would prefer to see the Bears lose and improve their draft position. I can also see the point of needing to win to advance the development of many of the young players on the team. Winning is a habit, but so is losing. We have two terrible teams going head to head at Soldier Field on Sunday. The fact that the only story line is Trubisky vs Garoppollo shows just how bad both teams have been. The 49ers are embarking on one of their worst periods in franchise history and so are the Bears. The difference is that the 49ers have already got their coach in place that they believe can develop their potential franchise Quaterback and the Bears do not.

This game will tell a lot and will have major ramifications going forward, if the Bears come out and look unprepared and get demolished by San Francisco, I would fully expect John Fox to be let go. The only reason he is still at the helm is to keep the team together until the end of the season. However, stories like Tre McBride and Josh Bellamy only tend to come out from teams on the brink of collapse. This team has a very similar feeling to the last season of Marc Trestman where reports started surfacing of Marshall’s antics in the locker room. Bad teams allow insignificant events to circulate and effect performance.

If the Bears come out and play well and win, that helps the development of many of the rookies and second year starters for the Bears but ultimately effects their draft position in a year where the season is already over. They best record possible is 8-8 and that is a big reach. There is more of a chance of the Bears losing the final 5 games than winning all 5. The final scenario that may be most beneficial in both the short run and long run would be the Bears to play good football and eventually end up on the losing end. It all but seems that the winner of this football game could end up being the loser in the long run. The only things left to play for are draft position and the development of the young players on teams like the Bears or 49ers.

However, I do see this being a game where the Bears can put up some points. The 49er defense has leaked points many times and has done very little in offensive production to worry a Chicago Bears defense welcoming back signal caller Danny Trevathan. It looks like a good matchup for the Bears. However, the significant difference in the 49ers may come from the QB position. In previous games, CJ Beathard was under center. Now it’s their big time acquisition in Jimmy Garoppollo playing against his hometown team where many Bears fans wanted him to come home. This game will be decided on a few critical components:

Who wins at the line of scrimmage.

Who limits the mistake.

Who takes advantage of their opponents mistakes.

Both teams have been marred with errors throughout 2017 and usually when mistakes occur good teams like the Eagles will take advantage. So far in 2017, the Bears and 49ers have been unable to capitalise on opponent mistakes. Whoever is able to control the football, limit the turnovers and take their opportunities will come out victorious. For the Bears to win this football game, it is very simple and I have been yelling it for weeks now.

Keep a balanced offensive attack.

Get after the QB.

LIMIT THE STUPID PENALTIES

Run the Damn Ball.

The Chicago Bears while have played well on defense and at times have got after the Quaterback, the offense just has been too predictable. They need to have a balanced attack that will catch the 49ers off guard. However, that does not mean the Bears need to throw the ball 40 times. The only way the Bears win the ballgame is in the hands of Jordan Howard. If Howard is successful, then the Bears have a chance. The problem has become the predictability of the offense so by the time Howard receives the football he already has two Dlinemen on him. The Bears need a balanced attack in order to open the running game for Howard. John Fox and his coaching staff are fighting for their jobs and while the decision to fire John Fox may have already been made there are other coaches on this staff that need to treat the next five weeks like their lives depend on it. YES IM TALKING ABOUT YOU DOWELL LOGGAINS. The Bears need to get rid of the conservativeness that has limited their ability to move the ball and become more creative on offense. If you have receivers that can’t get open then as an Offensive Coordinator it is your job to scheme them open. Use bunch formations, give defence’s different looks. It is becoming too easy for fans watching at home to know exactly what play the Bears will call and if we know, every other NFL team is going to know.

There is very little to worry about in terms of superstar talent in the 49ers team, but the Bears are not playing a brand of football that gives you confidence going into the game on Sunday. For the Bears to win, Trubisky has to play well, the running game needs to be explosive and the Dline needs to get after Garoppollo and force him into mistakes. The return of Trevathan should help the defense along with the good play from Christian Jones and Nick Kwiatkowski. This is a critical week to indicate which direction the Bears are going to go in 2017. Confidence and positivity need to be generated going into the offseason.

Bold Predictions:

Trubisky throws for over 200 Yards and has 3 TDs.

The Bears take the ball away 3 times.

The Bears score more than 17 in the first half.

Cairo Santos scores more points than Robbie Gould.

My Prediction:

Chicago Bears 33
San Francisco 49ers 28

This one for me is a very hard game to call, both teams have many deficiencies and I can see many mistakes effect the dynamic of the game. Both teams have nothing to lose and therefore I hope for a shootout between the two Qb’s with the Chicago Bears edging it in the end with a 33-28 victory.